By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
TLL has recently covered a variety of licensing deals involving the eyeglasses manufacturer Gunnar, and over the past two weeks, we’ve been experimenting with two versions of the company’s proprietary eyewear technology.
Of course, TLL is not a consumer product publication; our audience is solely made up of licensing professionals, but it has occurred to us that identifying solid licensing partners is a worthy addition to our coverage.
In this case, Gunnar sent me a sample of their ‘Groot’ glasses shortly after their licensing deal with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise from Marvel.
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Designed to largely eliminate eye strain and damage from prolonged use of computers and mobile devices, the Groot glasses seemed pretty impressive, but I couldn’t give them a thorough test drive as I need to wear reading glasses when I’m gaming or working on my computer.
That said, I’m the perfect candidate for these types of glasses. As the editor of an online publication, as well as a fairly active gamer, I spend a LOT of time staring at screens. As an avid reader, I also spend a lot of time reading ebooks on Kindle or the Libby library app on my iPhone.
Gunnar helped out by sending me a pair of their specialized Phenom reading glasses at a strength of 1.50.
The Phenom model is near the top of the technology pile for Gunnar, and the stylish frame and lenses are packed with the very latest in eye protection technologies.
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Gunnar has three basic levels of eyewear technology, and the Phenom glasses are at the ‘Legendary’ level, the same as the Groot glasses. Essentially, that means the frames are made of tough, exotic materials that are both attractive and extremely durable, they include customizable spring hinges, and much attention is paid to making them so comfortable that I typically forget I’m wearing them!
The real magic, however, is in the lenses, which are a ‘blended polyamide lens for extremely clear optics and lower chromatic aberration.’ In other words, you’ll see both more clearly, and see color more accurately.
I noticed this the first time I put them on and opened up my World of Tanks video game, as I instantly noticed details in the imagery that I’d never seen before. The lenses allowed me to better differentiate even the slightest differences in color, and things I’d not noticed before really popped on the screen; an important factor in a fast-paced shooter game.
Like the frames, the Phenom lenses are also tough and durable, coated in Gunnar’s proprietary G-Shield premium coating, which includes layers of hydrophobic (protection against water and moisture) and oleophobic protection. The latter is essentially an anti-smudge technology that on glass surfaces creates an oil resistant, anti-fingerprint surface that is impervious to dirt, dust, oils, and other particulates, resulting in a surface that is easy-to-clean and maintains a cleaner surface longer than untreated glass.
That’s a good thing for me, as I’m notoriously absent minded and as an avid hiker, boater, and kayaker, I tend to lose, drop, and otherwise destroy my reading or sun glasses on a fairly regular basis. In the first week I’d dropped my Phenoms in the ocean, a muddy swamp, and a gravel trail. Even for me, that’s bad.
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I thought the lenses would be hopelessly scratched, but I gave them a wipe with the provided cleaning cloth, and they turned out just like new.
So, how did the glasses perform? Well, to start with, I just never use my other reading glasses, including my pricey progressive lenses. The Phenoms have drastically reduced the sore, itchy eyes I get after a full day working in front of the screen, and have made gaming noticeably more enjoyable.
Even my wife, who is ridiculously hard to impress, tried the glasses on while reading on her iPhone, and declared, “That is amazing!”
It’s worth noting that, in addition to the ‘Legendary’ level glasses I tried out, Gunnar also produces professional esports eyewear. The brand is loved by serious, professional gamers for its lens technology, but Gunnar upped their game, so to speak, by delivering the same technology in various configurations specifically for gamers. For example, the frames are designed to work with headsets, greatly increasing the comfort for players in long sessions. The glasses wrap around the face precisely, in such a way that they keep your eyes from drying out, which is a serious issue for gamers. All of that intensity gamers bring to their esport means they simply blink less often, their eyes dry out, and that can cause eye damage over time.
The gaming versions also provide panoramic viewing of large format screens and gaming peripherals, and even for viewing your teammates when you’re playing in an in-person esports tournament.
For all those reasons, it’s not surprising that Gunnar has been involved in a lot of gaming-related licensing deals, including with the Fallout game and show from Amazon; Diablo IV, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch from Blizzard; Call of Duty; Tokidoki; Assassin’s Creed; and with the top gaming accessory producer Razer.
As well, Gunnar has done several collabs with Marvel, such as the Groot glasses, a replica of the glasses worn by Tony Stark in Ironman, and even Spider-Man inspired specs for the kids.
Now I’ve tried them myself, it’s easy to see why licensors are working with Gunnar. The glasses are flat out the best I’ve ever used for both work and gaming, and have already helped reduce the eyestrain and irritation I’ve experienced for many years from overuse of computers and mobile devices.
If you’re interested in learning more, for the purpose of licensing or just to score some glasses, go to https://gunnar.com/pages/technology.
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